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(Be) able to

By

Be + able to + verb is a verb idiom. It has the same meaning as "can", but it's less common.

Example: 

  1. My mother is at the market. I'm not able to see her in the house. (= I can't see her ...) *
  2. Is she able to buy that shirt? (= Can she buy ....?; Is it possible for her to buy ....?)

* The negative form of able to is : unable to. E.g. I'm unable to see her in the house.

Special note: other linking verbs as well as "be", especially seem or feel, are followed by able to. For example: Nobody seemed able to come to the party. 

"Be able to" isn't quite the same as "know how to". It's better to use "can" instead if you mean "know how to". Example: Can you speak Chinese? Not: Are you able to speak Chinese? 

With INFINITIVE

Can has no infinitive. Instead, be able to is used where the infinitive is needed. Example: He would be able to find the lost keys.

Note: be able to follows some Modal Auxiliaries like might. Example: Why don't you discuss with Sam? He might be able to help you.

With -ing form

Can has no -ing form. If needed, we have to use being able to instead. Example: I enjoy being able to take a rest at the weekend.*

* Note: Remember not to use the progressive form of be able to like this: He's being able to take a rest ... .

With Past

We often use was / were able to instead of be able to because can doesn't have regular past form. .​

Sometimes there's a difference between could and was / were able to. Let's see example below:

  1. The young programmer could code in many programming languages.
  2. The young programmer was able to code well with Python. 

In example (1) means that he knew how to code in various programming languages, but maybe he didn't actually write any code. 

In example (2) means that he could and did code with Python (a specific programming language).

With Perfect

We often use has / have been able to instead of can because it doesn't have perfect form.

Example: Unfortunately, he hasn't been able to code anymore since his laptop lost.

With Future

We often use will be able to instead of can because it doesn't have future form. Example: When will you be able to send me a formal email? 

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